With Friends Like These...

An Australian gossip mag is reporting that Kate Middleton is pregnant, citing as their source one of Kate’s ‘oldest friends’, Jessica Hay, who tells New Idea that her old school pal Kate has ‘wonderful, happy news’ to share, ‘with next month tipped as the deadline for the revelation’ that she is pregnant.

But don’t get too excited, as Miss Hay may not be the most well-informed of sources.

She is the ‘best pal’ who claimed that Kate had posters of William on her bedroom wall at boarding school – a story categorically denied by Kate on air in her engagement interview, and Hay was also behind a bizarre story, subsequently withdrawn, that Kate had faeces smeared on her bedsheets as part of a bullying campaign.

Miss Hay’s story lacked credibility, to say the least, as Kate was not a boarder at the school in question.

Royal sources previously said of Miss Hay: ‘She is not and never has been a friend. Many claims are just fantasies.’

In her interview with New Idea magazine, Hay says: “They’re planning to make an announcement in December. William and Kate are focused on starting a family.”

Although Kate finds the constant attention on her body and pregnancy status unsettling, she does, friends say, accept that it goes with the territory when you marry a future King.

William and Kate have also, perhaps unwisely, allowed themselves to be drawn into commenting on the issue themselves.

In their enagagement interview with ITN, Kate said, “I hope we will be able to have a happy family ourselves,” which prompted the interviewer to ask, “People are bound to ask, do you want lots of children?”

William replied, “I think we’ll take it one step at a time. We’ll sort of get over the marriage first and then maybe look at the kids. But obviously we want a family so we’ll have to start thinking about that.”